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Bak Pak Dimmers Keep Church from Being Scrooged

When Rochester Assembly of God built its new addition in 1997, it included just a basic lighting system. The ‘theatrical’ lighting consisted of a few colored lights and a couple of basic ‘can’ spotlights installed in a cove area near the ceiling. The lights were connected to infrared dimmers purchased off the shelf from a national electronics chain store.

The only control the church had of the fixtures was to turn them on or off. And sometimes even then, the system seemed to have a mind of its own. Church officials would come in, in the middle of the night to find all of the lights on, even though no one had touched the system. Because the church was doing relatively small-scale projects with little need for extensive production value, the system was adequate for their requirements.

As Rochester (Minn.) Assembly of God grew, so did the need for a more extensive lighting system. Church officials wanted to expand the scope of their productions to make them more professional looking and also more appealing and emotional to the congregation. A more elaborate lighting system would enhance not only special productions and holiday pageants, it would also allow the traditional weekly services to have a more emotional impact.

With its annual Christmas program on the horizon, Rochester Assembly of God decided there was no time like the present to upgrade its system. Still, the church wanted to be smart with the upgrade. It wanted a system that was cost-effective and that could be expanded as the church grew.

"We knew we were going to be presenting The Gospel According to Scrooge, so we decided to finally install a lighting system they way it really should be done," explained Clyde Ediger of Rochester Assembly of God. "It was critical for us that the system be scalable. We wanted to install a few components this year, and then add to the system throughout the year. Next year, we hope that the show is even more extensive, and we will be able to do more sophisticated lighting and effects."

Ediger, who supervised the lighting system upgrade, consulted with Dave Johnson at Minneapolis-based Gopher Stage Lighting. Based on previous jobs he had worked, Johnson recommended a dimming system that originally included eight Bak Pak individual dimmers from Entertainment Technology. Because the Bak Pak dimmers were so easy-to-use and inexpensive, the final installation included 14 of the versatile dimmers.

"We had done a couple of churches previously that didn't have any infrastructure in place for dimming," Johnson explained. "Most of the churches where we've installed the Bak Pak dimmers have had eight to 10 fixtures, limited space, and they're looking for something that's quiet. Generally a big requirement, and a key selling point for the Bak Pak dimmers, is the fact that because they use IGBT technology, they don't make any noise."

Rochester Assembly of God purchased eight new 750W conventional fixtures and attached a Bak Pak dimmer to each one. However, that didn't solve one major issue. They still had no control over the eight colored lights already installed in the ceiling cove. Again, the Bak Pak dimmers were the only logical solution.

The colored lights were 350W cans, which allowed Ediger to attach two lights to each dimmer - one dimmer for each color. By adding four more Bak Pak dimmers to the order, Johnson was able to provide a cost-effective solution that would allow the church to control the eight colored fixtures.

The lighting fixtures are attached to poles up in the cove near the ceiling. The church was built without a catwalk system, so Ediger must climb a ladder to access and focus the lights. This made the one-touch focus button on the Bak Pak dimmers even more valuable. Ediger was able to quickly adjust the lights to their proper spot at set-up.

"We didn't have to add a lot of additional wiring," Ediger noted. "I ran two CAT5 lines up to that area. I thought it was going to be an all-day affair running the lines from the fixtures back to the Horizon system we have controlling the lights. But it took us about 15 minutes. The Bak Pak dimmers made it really easy."

The final two Bak Pak dimmers were added as production of The Gospel According to Scrooge was already underway. The program's producers wanted to highlight a particular scene during the performance, but they didn't have control of the two spotlights that were being used for that particular segment. The flexibility, ease of installation and ease of use of the Bak Pak dimmers allowed Rochester Assembly of God to make changes to the lighting system while never losing production or rehearsal time.

"Anyone can use these," Ediger added. "And it only takes one person to hook them up. We're still planning to expand on this and add more Bak Pak dimmers as we move forward. This was just enough to get everyone excited. Now, they're wanting to do even more."

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Bak Pak Dimmers Keep Church from Being Scrooged

25th January 2005

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